This giant corpse flower is set to bloom any second at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo. When it does, it will smell like rotting flesh.

The Boston Red Sox may be in last place in the American League East, but take heart, Red Sox Nation, there will soon be something that stinks even more in Beantown: A giant corpse flower that could bloom any minute at the Franklin Park Zoo.

Known to botanists as the Amorphophallus titanum -- titan arum for short -- the corpse flower hails from the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is known for a terrible odor that, when in bloom, that has been compared to rotting flesh. The flower is also remarkable for its immense size, which can reach up to nine feet high and six feet wide at full bloom.

The plant is also unique in that it only blooms once every 7 to 10 years, and only for 48 hours at the most. But, oh, that smell is something that you don't forget, according to Harry A. Liggett, the zoo's manager of horticulture and grounds, who dealt with another corpse flower bloom earlier this year.

Part of that is because it only grows under very particular conditions, Liggett said.

"We keep it in a greenhouse heated to 82 degrees and use misters to get the humidity that high as well," Liggett said. "But doing that clogs up the intake on the heaters."

Normally, Liggett raises flowers like the giant corpse in a nursery not accessible to the public, but because it's impending bloom is considered a big deal, it is being placed in a special greenhouse for public viewing. Because no one can predict exactly when the flower will bloom, the zoo will be offering extra viewing hours in the evenings and mornings so visitors don't raise a stink about missing it.

Be careful what you wish for, though.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated the Boston Red Sox played in the National League East. They play in the American League East.